caudillo
noun
cau·di·llo
| \ kau̇-ˈt͟hē-(ˌ)yō
, -ˈt͟hēl-(ˌ)yō
\
, -ˈt͟hēl-(ˌ)yō
\
plural caudillos
Definition of caudillo
: a Spanish or Latin American military dictator
Examples of caudillo in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Congressional Democrats are, of course, outraged: How dare this aspiring caudillo order a vehicle belonging to the government to be painted red, white, and blue! — Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, "On Painting Air Force One," 13 June 2019 By now he was seen as a man of the right, sometimes a caudillo himself. — The Economist, "Obituary: Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo, the first cardinal from Central America," 23 June 2018 Some see him as a caudillo in the making: a strongman who will rule through the politics of personality and demolish institutions instead of reforming them. — Jonah Shepp, Daily Intelligencer, "AMLO Isn’t Mexico’s Trump – Nor Is He Trump’s Natural Enemy," 5 July 2018 As the Cold War wound to an end, however, the dictatorships fell, and the caudillo generals retreated into the historical shadows. — Ioan Grillo, The New Republic, "When Democracy Isn’t Enough," 6 June 2018 In Latin America, the specter of the caudillo, or military leader, has made a comeback. — Ian Bremmer, Time, "The 'Strongmen Era' Is Here. Here’s What It Means for You," 3 May 2018 His fellow populist caudillos in Latin America are each in varying degrees of trouble. — The Economist, "Riots threaten Nicaragua’s autocratic president," 26 Apr. 2018 Like most of its neighbors, Venezuela endured a succession of caudillo strongmen in the early 20th century and responded with a radical leftist movement in the 1950s and ’60s. — Wil S. Hylton, New York Times, "Can Venezuela Be Saved?," 1 Mar. 2018 García’s migration happened gradually, like Venezuela’s shift from a strongman president, Hugo Chavez, to another caudillo, Nicolas Maduro, whose constitutional changes threaten to install a full-fledged dictatorship. — Carlos Frías, miamiherald, "How food scarcity, protests forced Venezuela’s best chef from his home — and to Miami," 29 Aug. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'caudillo.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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